Misunderstanding
by Eve Nightingale
Summary: Second Lieutenant Maria Ross is accused of commiting a terrible act the night of the military banquette. Her job is on the line with this and things are looking grim. Rape is no laughing matter.
1. Chapter 1 Accusation

This is my first real FMA fic; it's quick but kind of funny. I just got the idea and decided to get it all down on virtual paper. For the record, there are spoilers, so if you don't want to know what happens in the end of the series, don't read on. The spoiler will begin now.

……………..

Ok, I know I said there would be spoilers, but still, this might be considered a spoiler. Al did get his body back and I know that Edward got stuck on the other side of the gate…but let's pretend that none of that happened. Let's just, for a brief shining moment, pretend that Ed used the Philosophers stone, got Al back and that's it. The stone, after that is gone; poof gone, no more. Ok? Let's begin.

**Chapter 1

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**

Monday mornings were never anything of any good. Everyone was tired from enjoying the weekend and they were now forced into the same old stuffy uniforms day after day. Until the weekend would once again free them from their duties they were stuck being colonel's, lieutenants', and sergeants.

All the soldiers of central weren't particularly lively on this day, even Sergeant Denny Brosh; this day especially he was not up to par. Over the weekend he had experienced some events that took its toll on him. Not just the casual drink, a hangover would have been an improvement to how he was feeling. It was because of Second Lieutenant Maria Ross, the woman he absolutely adored.

On Saturday, he saw her with another man in the dorms, entering a room and then not leaving for over an hour. He suspected a one night stand; he was inevitably shattered on the inside. On top of that, he was familiar with the man she was with, quite familiar with him, Denny was heartbroken.

"Mmmm…" He groaned to himself, or so he thought. At the moment he heaved his sigh, Mustang's door opened revealing him holding a rather large cup of coffee. Roy raised an eyebrow.

"Sergeant Brosh, what seems to be the trouble?" Denny looked up at him and then shook his head.

"Haa…nothing. Unless you can turn back time, nothing that can be fixed." Roy eyed the potted plant placed conveniently placed at the side of the door slyly, checking down the hall to making sure no one was looking he dumped the cold coffee into the ugly plant. He then extended his arm welcoming in Denny.

"I can't stand working with people who are depressed, let's see what we can do." Truth, Roy was just trying to be nosy. With Ross not at his side, it seemed oddly obvious that they were in some sort of tiff. Denny probably knew that Roy was thinking this, but why the hell not; it wasn't like he had anything else better to do.

Denny proceeded into the room and before him were Warrant Officer Falman, Sergeant Major Fuery, Second Lieutenant Breda and Havoc. All seemed well except for Havoc, who instead of having a cigarette hanging out of his mouth had a rather mean looking frown and his arms were tightly folded. He looked pissed; maybe he was having girl trouble as well.

"Alright, let's hear it." Roy, as if he knew what Denny was going to say, folded his arms and waited. Everyone else encouraged him.

"We're all men here." Breda stated. "Out with it." The rest listened carefully. Denny lowered his head.

"I saw Maria with another guy on Saturday, I'm positive they slept together." He sighed. "I know she's a grown woman who can make he own choices, but the guy who she was with was younger than her. I'm just depressed, that's all." Havoc cracked his knuckles.

"Well learn to deal with it!" He demanded while pounded his fist on the table. "We all have our troubles with women, they like you, they sort of like you, they don't like you, they'll only like you if you quit smoking, even though you're perfect in all other aspects," His voice continually got louder whilst approaching the and of his sentence. "No matter what you do the only thing she wants is the thing you can't do! GAH!" Havoc mussed his hair and rested his elbows down on the table. Roy raised an eyebrow and gave Havoc a mild 'not this again' look.

Roy reached into his desk and pulled out a little rubber bag filled with sand. "Havoc!" He tossed it to him. "Squeeze that until you stop stressing." And Havoc did squeeze that poor little stress ball to the point it bubbled out from between his fingers.

"It won't work…" He called down as he tightened his grip. "Hehe…Squeeze Squeeze." Denny watched Havoc torture the little ball.

"Don't mind him." Roy coaxed. "He's just going through nicotine withdrawal. He's been like that since Saturday night." Denny returned his gaze to the colonel.

"I see…" Denny smiled half heartedly.

"Everyone has their tiffs with women, there's no reason to be depressed for days over it. Just move on." Sergeant Brosh still seemed saddened by what he saw on Saturday.

"Well, I guess you're right…I suppose I wouldn't have been so bothered by it if I didn't know who she was with." Roy was intrigued.

"Who was it?" Falman, Kane and Breda crowded around.

"Yeah, come on spill, who was it. Do we know him?" Falman pried.

"Now ladies, let's not gossip." Roy said smugly from behind his desk, sipping his newly found cup of coffee. They snickered at the comment.

"Who was it?" Kane leaned ever so closer. Denny swallowed hard.

"Uhh, he might be upset if I said anything." Denny battled it over in his mind on whether or not he should tell.

"Nonsense, he's not here, I doubt he'll care." Mustang once again coaxed him.

"It was…Ed Elric." Roy nearly spit his coffee halfway across the room.

"WHAT!" They all exclaimed and jumped back.

"What?" Havoc followed up with a small disbelieving exclamation followed by a small pop. They all turned their eyes in the direction of Havoc. The left side of his face was twitching and there was sand pouring out from his clasped right fist. He then clenched his fist even tighter. "I can't take it!" He stood up from his chair and knocked it over. "Even the kid's getting laid! It's not fair! I hate you all! I'm going home!" With that said he stormed out of the room brushing his hand off all the way out, trailing little bits of sand the entire way.

"I suppose that was a reasonable reaction." Roy leaned forward in his desk. "Are you sure you saw Edward?" He nodded at the colonel. "Oh my…this isentirely unexpected…." Everyone sat in silence. No one would have expected something like this from Maria; Edward maybe, but not Maria.

"What makes you so sure of this?" Falman questioned.

"Saturday, well, the night of banquette, I saw her going back to his room with her arm wrapped around his waist. He had his arm around her shoulder and they were talking and laughing." He began to get all choked up. "Then, he opened the door to his room and pulled her inside, all the while laughing and carrying on. I left in a bit of a fuss and when I came back an hour later she was just leaving the room, breathing heavy, sweating and she was tucking her shirt in, fixing her hair, her coat was off and all signs point to one thing."

"Maria's a pedophile!" Kane exclaimed, and Roy, once again chocked on his coffee.

"You people are trying to kill me." He placed his cup down. "He's almost half her age." They all sat in silence trying to absorb all the information. Breaking the silence Breda spoke.

"I always thought that Edward was going with that little blond girl, Winry." Denny shrugged.

"Me too…and maybe he still is." Roy stood up and crossed the room to view the poor massacred stress ball. Picking up its remains and shaking out the few grains of sand that remained. "Looks like I'm going to have to speak with Mr. Elric. Don't worry; I won't mention your name Brosh; we very well could be dealing with statutory rape." Roy glared off into the distance in his usual manner. "I'll get the truth out of him. Leave it to me." Denny sighed and smiled.

"I really hope this is just one big misunderstanding. Thank you sir." He saluted the colonel and headed out of the room, passing Hawkeye on the way out he smiled and nodded to her in greeting, she returned the gesture. She scanned the room; everyone seemed to be deep in thought.

"What's going on?" She had her arms folded around some papers and files that she was carrying. Placing them down on the edge of Roy's desk she asked again. "Well, are you guys going to say anything?" Roy took a deep breath.

"…Hawkeye, you wouldn't happen to know where Second lieutenant Ross was on Saturday would you." Hawkeye thought to herself for a moment.

"Well, I was with her practically the whole night. I remember Edward came over to the table where we were sitting and he asked if someone would give him a ride home because he was getting sick or something. I believe Maria was gone getting a drink at the time. I told him that none of us were in any condition to drive…and I don't recall seeing him anywhere afterwards. I think he muttered something about walking home. So I stayed there with Maria and I guess he waked home." There was a pause. The stories fit, if Maria was still at the banquette. "Why?" Roy's expression changed to serious.

"If we can get a little more information but we think that Maria spent the night with Edward." Riza's eyes widened.

"No way, that's--Wait, I remember something else." Everyone turned to Riza. "About twenty minutes after Edward left I had remembered that Maria was supposed to be the designated driver and told her that Edward was walking home. She seemed a little concerned and she left after him." A dead silence fell over the room. "I don't think that she would do something like that." Breda shrugged.

"The stories match up then." She turned to him. "Sergeant Brosh saw them go into his room together. Apparently he pulled her in there and everything." Fuery straightened his glasses.

"Or was he pushed in?" He pointed out; the same silence once again was thick; you could cut it with a knife. "We should really talk to Edward if we really want to start accusing people of rape." They nodded.

"Good idea, Riza, how was Maria acting when she returned to the Banquette, I recall her driving you and a few others home." Riza blushed.

"So, that's how I got home." She stated in a way that showed that she had drank too much to remember anything at all after that. Roy sighed.

"Oh well. We'll just have to rely on what Edward has to say."

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I'll update once I get sufficent reviews, tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2 Resolution

Well, I seem to have gotten a positive response, all will be taken care of. Though the last chapter will be a flashback of what happened at the banquette.

Here you go! Hope you like it.

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**Chapter 2**

"Edward, can I talk to you in my office?" Ed froze and turned his gaze over to Al who in turn shrugged. They both proceeded into the room. Roy held up a hand. "If you don't mind Alphonse, I'd like to have a word with Edward alone please." Al nodded and turned to leave the room but not before muttering to his older brother under his breath.

"Better you than me." Ed gritted his teeth and headed into the office. Al closed the door and the two of them were left alone.

"So, did you enjoy the banquette on Saturday?" Four times a year the military held a banquette for its soldiers, one a season, this one being summer, just to keep things a little less boring. This was the first one that Edward had actually attended. Alphonse was back to his original body and he could enjoy himself as much as he could without making Alphonse feel left out. All there was really to do was food and drink, so considering Ed was underage all he could do was enjoy the food.

All the food that Al enjoyed when he was younger he couldn't have while he was in the armour, so going to the banquette and eating all that good food was almost as if he was rubbing it in. But now that guilt was lifted and they both got to gorge themselves on all the fancy kinds of food that were there.

"Yeah, it was pretty good…I think I had something at the buffet that didn't agree with me, I felt kind of sick, and so I walked home at 1." Roy folded his hands as he watched Ed squirm in his seat. Something wasn't sitting with him right, why was Ed acting so nervous?

"Riza said that you asked for a ride." He nodded.

"Yeah, I felt really ill, I didn't want to walk. It's not that far, but a drive would have been nice." Mustang leaned forward.

"Maria caught up to you didn't she?" Ed swallowed hard.

"Uh…yeah…she made sure I made it to my room." Ed laughed a little. "I got sick a little earlier in the washroom and was kind of weak in the legs, so she helped me to my room. I went right to sleep when I went to bed." Roy blinked at Edwards's response.

"Why would she go after you to see if you were ok? And on top of that she stayed with you for almost an hour afterwards in your room." Edward searched for words but found nothing.

"I don't know, I was asleep." He stood up. "Can I go now, I need to get breakfast before it's over." Roy shook his head but waved him on with his hand.

"If your not telling me something that I need to hear Full Metal you better tell me now." Ed assured him.

"No, I'm fine." Ed turned and left the room and closed the door. Al looked up at his older brother from the other side of the hall.

"What was that all about?" He questioned his brother.

"That Mustang, he wanted to know what I was doing on Saturday." Al raised an eyebrow.

"Did you tell him?" Ed shook his head.

"No, Maria would get in a lot of trouble if he knew. Lucky for me he bought the equivocation I gave him. That was a lifesaver. I think I'm off the hook." Al seemed sceptical.

"I don't know; I feel like they're going to drag this one out…" Ed crossed his arms in front of himself.

"I just hope that Lieutenant Ross keeps it to herself like she said she would." Ed was quite shaken, but decided to forget about the whole thing and just let it blow over. "Let's go get some food."

…………………

"Alright, so what exactly did you do when you left to go find Edward?" Maria thought back to Saturday. Roy was ever so causally grilling her on the events that took place on Saturday.

"Well, I was supposed to drive everyone home so I didn't drink anything if that's what you're concerned about." Roy shook his head.

"I want to know what you were doing in Edward's room at about 1 AM." He very straight forwardly asked. Tiptoeing was never his strong suit when it came to interrogations. "Someone reported that you two went in and you emerged all flustered about an hour or so later." Maria blushed.

"What in the world are you suggesting!" Second Lieutenant Ross seemed quite upset with the comment, she went on the defensive. "Edward wasn't feeling well, so I stayed with him till he fell asleep." Roy raised an eyebrow.

"He told me that he had fallen asleep right when he went to bed." Maria was at a loss for words, the same as Edward when Roy mentioned the same thing. So then Roy's accusation was more than likely not very far form the truth. Maria searched for something to say. "Well?" Maria pressed her lips together tightly and then spoke.

"That's something you'll have to take up with Edward. Nothing happened. I swear on it." Roy shook his head.

"I wish I could believe that, but when I asked Edward about it he got all nervous and he wouldn't say much of anything." Lieutenant Ross sat up straight in her seat. Mustang's office was cold, she hated it. "Now, I've known Edward for four years, he's never been known to act nervous like that unless something was really bothering him." She gave him a glare.

"I assure you sir; nothing happened between Edward and I; he's only a child." Mustang nodded.

"I know that, witch is why I'm looking so deeply into the matter. You can go for now, but if I find out anything to the contrary of what you've told me, your job will be on the line." He turned his to face away from her. "You can go, but don't leave headquarters until I say so. You got that?" Mustang gave his order. Maria saluted him despite he wasn't looking.

"Yes sir." With all that said and done she left the room. Shutting the door behind her she took off down the hall to find Edward. 'He got his story mixed up, dammit; I have to find him.' After only a few minutes of searching around she finally ran into Edward and his little brother Alphonse.

The two boys looked at her face and immediately knew that something was wrong. Maria pulled the two boys into one of the vacant conference rooms and shut the door. "Edward, we need to talk, Mustang seems to think that I spent the night with you on Saturday." Ed seemed puzzled.

"Well you did…didn't you." Lieutenant Ross shook her head.

"Not in the way thathe thinks ithappened. He thinks that we had…uh, relations of a non-consensual manner." Ed paused as he grasped the concept that Maria was trying to communicate. Then Al chimed in.

"You…mean…he, thinks that you raped my brother." Maria nodded.

"…what?" Ed followed up. He was stunned by the accusation.

"And on top of that my job is on the line here, so I need an alibi." Ed shook his head.

"Woah, woah! This is serious! You don't need to cover for me if your job is on the line. I'll just tell them." Maria waved a hand.

"But then you'll get in trouble with Mustang. I'll keep my word, don't worry." Ed crossed his arms.

"You've already done so much for Al and I, but if you think this'll just blow over." Al nodded.

"Yeah, it's Ed's fault for doing that to himself anyway, so you shouldn't have to take the fall." Ed glared at his little brother.

"Even so, if I go down, you're coming with me." Al sighed; he was hoping his brother wouldn't have said that.

"It figures." Al folded his arms. Maria opened the door only to find Mustang just walking by; he stopped in his tracks.

"Ah, what luck, it was you three that I saw go in here; if you'll come with me please." Ed and Maria looked at one another in a worried way and then followed behind Mustang. Upon reaching the Colonal'sfamiliarroom, the three of them sat down amidst all of Mustang's crew, Falman, Feury, Breda and Hawkeye, including Lieutenant Havoc who still looked like he was in a bad mood. This time he had a toothpick in his mouth.

"Listen Mustang, you're blowing this way out of proportion. It's not a big deal." Ed stated in a worried way; Roy crossed his arms.

"On Saturday, around 1:50 there were some loud noises that emitted from Edward's Room. The noises were described as 'a fight, or a struggle.' Now can you explain that to me? If Edward went to sleep right when he got to his room, who could have been making a struggling noise?" The room fell silent, everyone stared with anticipation. Mustang placed a reassuring hand on Edwards shoulder. "You really don't have to cover for anyone here Ed." Ed sighed and brushed away Mustang's hand.

"Actually, I'm not covering for her; it's really the other way around." Ed said rather sheepishly.

"Hmm?" Roy, along with everyone else in the room, seemed confused.

"Ah, you people seem to think that we slept togetherSaturday night, well, she did spend some time with me, but nothing happened." They all stared on with anticipation. "You see…" He paused and looked at all the accusing eyes locked on him and Ross. He knew he had to tell the truth in this situation; being a good liar means knowing when to quit. "Gah, I got drunk at the banquette!" The group focused in on Edward."

"Excuse me?" Mustang asked. Ed nodded.

"It's true..." The entire room listened intently. "Al and I were sneaking drinks the whole night and at about 11:30 I ran into Ross and I figured I was caught, but she said that she wouldn't tell and that she would give me a ride home if I needed one." Roy turned an accusing eye to Al.

"Is that true Alphonse?" Al lowered his head and nodded.

"Mm-hmm."

"One o'clock rolled around," Ed continued. "I guess I drank too much and started to feel sick; I went to find Lieutenant Ross and I only found Riza, she said that Ross was drinking and couldn't drive. So I decided to walk instead." Roy sighed.

"Well then, that explains why you went to check on him. But why was it that you were all out of breath when you left his room, and what about all the commotion?" He turned to Edward who in onlyshrugged.

"I don't even remember walking home." Ross sighed.

"Actually, Edward was just coming back from the bathroom in his dorm and his legs gave out and he collapsed on the end table. I picked up the table and tried to prop it against the wall but it fell over again so I fad to fix on the leg with a paper weight I found on the floor. Afterwards I had to carry Edward back to his bed. And even though he has a small frame he's actually quite heavy; I imagine it's due to the automail. It was rather taxing for me to pick him up. That's why I was out of breath" Ed turned to her.

"When you say 'small frame' are you implying that I'm short?" He glared at her and Ross smiled.

"Well…" Roy interrupted them.

"Edward, if that's the case, why didn't you just say so from the start?" Ed sat back in his chair.

"Well, I sure as hell didn't want to get in trouble, and I didn't want Maria to get penalized for covering for me. But I guess now all that's straightened out…can we go now." Roy nodded. Everyone crowded out of the room; except for Ed, Al and Lieutenant Ross. Roy shook her hand and apologized for the accusation.

"You have to understand, Ed and Al's safety is my first priority. Sorry for the mix up. I am however going to have to get you to file a report on everything that's happened, underage drinking is a serious matter, so you have to not let it go passed unattended again." Lt. Ross nodded with a smile.

"Understood Sir." She released her grip and gave him a salute.

"I'm glad to see it all worked out for the best." Al nodded at his brother's words; then the three of them turned to exit but were stopped by Mustangs demanding voice.

"Oh no you don't boys." He grabbed the two minors by the shoulders. Maria left the room and gave a short wave. "Just where do you think you're going? You have a fifteen page report to do on how alcohol not only impairs your judgment, damages your liver…" He got really close to Edward's ear. "…and stunts your growth…Edward." Ed's eye twitched, he then lowered his head alongside Alphonse and accepted his fate. "You two better start now, because you have a lot of housework to do." Al turned as Roy released his grip.

"Housework?" Al said with a grimmace; Roy nodded.

"Yup, I'm putting you two on kitchen duty until I think you've suffered enough. Then we'll see how much fun underage drinking actually was." The two boys sighed and left the room but not before Al gave Ed a quick shot in his real arm.

"Jerk! I can't believe you'd sell me out like that." Ed glared at him and punched him back.

"I told you I'd take you down with me…besides, they know you can't lie; I had no choice." The two brothers headed over to the library to begin their research; heads hung low in depression. "I was puking my guts up all Sunday, you think that would have been reperation enough. Fate has screwed me over yet again." Ed sighed.

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And there you have it, a short story. the next chpter is only a little extra bit I'm adding on to give the story something extra; what really happened at the banquette. Just a little drunken fun to keep things rolling amusing. Also I'm adding in the other little scene I cut out of the first chapter, well, not really cut, just replaced, I was originally going to have Havoc react to theaccusation a little bit differently. But you'll have to wait untill I get a few more reviews. 

Later : )


	3. Chapter 3 Saturday Night Part 1

**Chapter 3**

**Saturday Night (Part 1)

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"Alright people, I'm sure with our combined knowledge we can somehow piece together what happened on Saturday night." Roy turned to everyone in the room. In his office was Ed and Al, Lt. Ross and Sergeant Brosh, Hawkeye, Havoc, Breda, Fuery, Falman and himself. "From my understanding this all began to go out the window at about 9:30 to 10 o'clock." He turned his attention to Edward. "The events seem to have started with you, so why don't you tell us how your night began." Edward crossed his arms to think for a moment.

"Well, I forgot my watch at Central HQ, so I decided to go and get it before someone else found and stolen. When I got back to the banquette everyone was enjoying themselves. It was about 10 when I got back."

The night of Central's military banquette was in full swing. Drinks were flowing and h'orderves were being taken out by platefuls. A good chunk of the staff had their fill of food and moved onto finer things that encompassed being at a military banquette. All soldiers drank for free! That's their treat for going to a company social, as much free liquor as you could handle, and then some, and then some, and then some.

By the time it struck 10 all glasses were full and bar songs were chimed. There were several of what appeared to be vases filled with wine that lined buffet tables, there were kegs galore at the front bar. The bartender was showing off with a few bar tricks, pouring from great distances, shaking, spinning and flipping glasses as he mixed. It was quite a sight.

Ed crossed the floor and returned to Al and Winry who were patiently sitting at their table they had reserved. Ed sat down and leaned back. "Did you get it?" Ed held up his watch that he had left in Central Headquarters.

"I keep leaving it down places; I should attach it to my wallet and my belt tomorrow." Al smiled, as he opened and closed his own.

"That's what I do." Winry's eyes widened.

"Oh yeah, I never got to take one of those apart yet. You should let me take your apart there Al." Al smiled and reattached it to his belt.

"I'll think about it." Winry puffed out her bottom lip.

"I should have figured you'd be stingy too." They laughed it off. A few minutes later Edward got up and once more began to cross the floor. "Where are you going Ed?" He merely held up a finger to his lips. "…?" Winry glanced at Al who was equally as confused.

"What's he up to?" Al watched as his older brother vanish into the crowd of people and then returned several minutes later, a bit of a pissed off look on his face, arms folded over his chest and they disappeared into his long brown leather coat. Al seemed puzzled at what his brother was doing. Ed cocked his head in a way that it motioned for them to follow him. Al and Winry rose from their seats and followed Ed down the empty hallway of one of many corridors. Ed turned sideways to one of the doors; pushing down it's brass handle with his elbow he caused the door to become slightly ajar.

"Come on." He pushed the door open with his shoulder and advanced into the room with the other two following closely behind. This room center floor consisted of a long table lined with chairs that looked rather fancy and a small sitting area over in the corner. It had four loveseats arranged in a half moon pattern that encircled a small coffee table made out of a deep mahogany wood.

The adjacent side, the right side of the room when you enter, were many serving trays on wheels, they must have been to carry many plates without having to make an equal amount of trips, a few of them still had glasses and saucers on them. Against its back wall there was a rather large window that was covered in a long velvet red curtain hemmed with gold trim. It deserved to be called biggest clichéd hanging from a curtain rod.

"Ed…what's all this about?" Ed looked over his shoulder and then scanned the empty private dining room.

"Close the door." He said quickly; Alphonse hastily shut the door behind them. "Won't let me drink at their bar huh?" He whipped his hands out from underneath his jacket revealing two rather large vases filled almost to the brim with wine. "I'm a soldier too, I should be treated equal." The others seemed horrified yet at the same time excited.

"Edward! Where did you get those?" He smiled as he laid them down on the table that was situated in center floor.

"I took them off the table." Al backed up a bit.

"You stole them?" Ed shook his head.

"Soldiers drink for free remember? I probably wouldn't have taken them if that didn't say 'oh, you're too short to be a soldier' I just happen to be one, and so do you." He pointed to one jug on the table. "One for me." Then to the other standing next to it. "And one for you, and Winry, we can share ours with you. Of course." Winry's eyes widened.

"Ooh, I've always wondered when I'd have my first drink of wine." She picked up one of the vases and smelled its contents. They were deep red in color and had a slight sent of grapes. "It smells so good too. Ooo, I need to give it a try." Her voice was a squeaky and bubbly as it usually went in times of utter happiness. Al rubbed the back of his head.

"Are you sure it's such a good idea." Winry waved a hand at him.

"Oh Al, don't be such a stick in the mud. It'll be fun!" Winry coaxed as headed over to one of many serving tables and picked up a few tall wine glasses. She began to fill her cup; placing the glass to her lips she took her first drink of wine. The two boys watched her carefully, was it good, or did it taste like poison? Winry removed the glass from her mouth and swirled her wine in her cup. "It's good." She gave them a convincing look and then took another drink. Ed and Al smiled.

"That's good to hear. Honestly, I thought it smelled kind of off, but if it tastes good, I guess that's all that matters." Ed checked what time it was. "Okay, clock says it's 10:15, the banquette ends at 4, I think was can get rid of these by then." Al picked up one of the rather large transparent vases and poured some red liquid into one free glasses for himself and one for Ed. He handed the crystal glass to his brother.

"Cheers." The three friends clinked their glasses together and proceeded to enjoy the red liquor.

………………

Meanwhile, back in the main hall, Roy had returned from central HQ. "Mustang, wherv'ya been! You missed the speech." Havoc patted his friend on the shoulder; he handed Roy his drink and smiled, a cigarette hanging out the side of his mouth, not yet lit.

"I forgot my flask, can't enjoy myself without it." Roy pulled out his shiny silver flask. Hawkeye who was sitting next to him took holds of Roy's wrist and pulled the flask closer to her face.

"Isit silver?" Her speech seemed a little distorted and she was all to amused with the shiny brand new flask. "You-shoul- You shouldn't keep that in your desk. We aren't supposed tuh drink at work." Roy smiled at his delightful musing; Hawkeye always overdid it halfway through the night and had to be poured into a cab hours before the party ended. She sat back in her chair and allowed her head to fall back.

"I know I shouldn't keep it in my desk, but it's there for when I work extra hours. I don't drink it during the day. And yes, it's pure silver. It doesn't give liquor that off metal taste." He twisted off the cap and took a swig. "Ah." He sighed. "Good ol' Mule-Kick." Havoc's eyes lit up.

"Got the white lightning this time." Roy extended the flask and Havoc took a drink. "Woah!" He coughed slightly. "That'll knock you right out, no wonder it got the name mule-kick." Hawkeye reached over the table and snatched the sliver flask from Havoc. She tilted the small container back and took a big mouthful then stuck it back in front of Mustang's face; he removed it from her hand.

"Moonshine, thas what I thought." They snickered lightly at Riza's outward display of drunkenness. She had already polished off seven shooters and a couple beers. Roy examined one of many shot glasses that lined the table in front of her. The small glasses had a strong almost sweet scent to them; it was strong but not overpowering.

"Whisky I see." Riza patted his shoulder.

"No Roy, Moonshine, you put moonshine in the flask." She spoke to his as though she was speaking to a child. Roy laughed.

"I mean what you've been drinking. It's whisky, right?" Riza looked down at her empty glasses that were presented on the table in front of her.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I was wsn't I?" She raised her arm up high. "Nother shot!" She yelled out to a passing server then gave a cheerful giggle. "Hehe, Scoch Whisy to be esact." She raised a finger and pointed art Mustang as she spoke; her speech becoming more slurred as she conversed. Roy laughed out loud and gave Riza a firm pat on the back.

"You're the reason I show up to these banquettes." Whenever Riza was into Whisky she became as giddy as a school girl. Very much unlike last time a get together was held like this, she had been drinking vodka the entire night. By nights end; she was starting bar fights and throwing glasses. The following day was met with frequent trips to the washroom and sincere apologies to all she injured and or offended, and also to those she threatened. Luckily there were no weapons allowed in the hall and Riza didn't know Alchemy; so fortunately for all that encompassed the area, Riza was relatively harmless and no one would die.

Havoc chuckled at Riza; she was always fun to get drunk with. It was a shame her parties were so short lived. This time she seemed to be doing a pretty good job at pacing herself. The rest of Mustangs crew were holding a small bet on when she'd lose her liquor or pass out. Havoc was the only one who bet she'd go the whole night without passing out. He had a lot of money riding on this, so he was praying for her sobriety. Just then something, or rather someone caught his eye.

He hadn't been drinking all that much, so he was able to keep up an intelligent conversation. This girl he saw was beautiful; she was slender with light brown hair that was neatly set up in a bun. It was a big bun so her hair was obviously long when let down. Her eyes were a cool greyish blue and she had a round soft looking face. Her cocktail dress she had on was peach and form fitting. There were sequences that stemmed from the left side of the dress and met at a gather on the right side. The dress had a sliming trait, made her long stand out and her eyes sparkle. She was drop dead gorgeous; Havoc was fortunate that Mustang was enticed with Riza's conduct to bother with this girl.

Second Lieutenant Havoc rose and approached the young lady. "Hey." She didn't look too much younger than he was, so Havoc figured he had a good chance; he gave his introduction. "I couldn't help but notice you here by yourself." She turned to acknowledge him.

"Hello." She said in a sparkling voice. Havoc began to flirt with this new girl while a waitress holding champagne on a large tray walked by.

"These called for?" The waitress paused and held out her tray.

"No, would you care to try one." Havoc nodded.

"Don't mind if we do. Thanks." Havoc removed two champagne flutes and the waitress smiled and walked off; handing her a glass he beamed.

"A soldier huh? I'm only a private; I have to pay for my drinks. What's your rank?" Havoc smiled.

"Second Lieutenant, names Jean Havoc." The young girl gasped as she drank from the fine crystal.

"Oh my, such high ranks. Do you serve under Colonel Mustang?" Havoc nodded. "How did you get to be where you are?"

"I've got friends in high places; Colonel Mustang and I go way back. I didn't catch her name." They chatted quietly while Kane, Breda and Vato approached the table where Mustang and Riza were sitting. Roy was listening to Riza very carefully to try and make out what exactly what she was saying. Kane smiled and held up his camera.

"Check this out! I just got a brand new roll of film, now we'll have no problem recalling tonight." On way to many occasions have things gotten out of control and no one has remembered a thing. This way, when they tell Riza she strip teased one of the waiters, she'll have no choice but to believe them. Didn't they all wish they had a camera that night. If they could replay last summers banquette they all would in a heartbeat.

"Oh! Takea pitchur!" Riza exclaimed as she glommed onto Roy's shoulder and hugged him. Roy blushed slightly; he too was starting to feel effects of the shine so he gave a "V" symbol with his free right hand. Kane smiled and held the camera up to take a picture. Centering it he snapped the shutter and a big flash of light shot out; thus preserving their memory for years to come.

"Think she'll remember it?" Kane said as he wiggled his camera in the air. Breda smirked.

"You care to put money on that." Kane shook his head.

"Nah, I'd like to eat this week sometime." They laughed as the whole crew, aside from Havoc sat down at their table and ordered up another round.

The party was really getting off the ground, not only in the main hall but the other hijacked room in hiding was also starting to become quite tipsy. The room was dimly lit and aside from the laughing, it was pretty quiet. Noise echoed out in the hall.

"Heydward…umhungry." Al's head rested back of one of the coaches, right across from Edward. He was so smashed that his words were so slurred that they almost sounded like another language. Edward laughed.

"Wha'ar'u talking about?" Edward was no better; though he could still form the basic parts of his sentences. "I can't understan." Al's head rolled forward and he looked at his older brother, he face was tinted red from the alcohol consumption.

"Food Ed!" He managed to get out without trouble. Ed nodded.

"Yeah, I'm kinda' hungry too." He looked at Winry who was resting on the coach's arm next to him. He poked her in the side; she had felt tired and dozed off in less than a half an hour in. "Wiry…Wiry…geup." He looked at Al and he snickered.

"Se hada glass, hehe, wuss!" His head fell backwards once again. "Well tsu glasses." He added. Ed shook his head, witch at this point felt like it a floating in water and whenever he moved, the water sloshed around, throwing off his balance. He went to lean over Winry to wake her up but fell on her instead. She had only dozed off for twenty minutes, so waking her now would have been best anyway.

"Wiry geup!" His face was so close to hers he could smell the wine on her breath; normally he was too shy to be this close to her face. "Do you wansum food?" She stirred and nodded. Ed stood up; it was his first time trying to walk since he actually became drunk. He straightened his body and inevitably gravity decided to have an adverse effect on his motions. Water that he felt he had in his head sloped backwards, causing him to fall back toward the coach. Luckily he caught himself on the back of the coach and straightened himself out. "Alright, I'll goet one na'those trays…with all those samwiges on them." Al watched Ed walked towards the door, aside from an initial teeter at first, his walking was almost flawless. He opened the door when it hit Al.

"Dun ge caut." Al tried desperately to tell his brother not to get caught but it seemed to fail, Ed looked over his shoulder.

"No cats! You ken forgetit!" Al raised an eyebrow and then laughed a little.

"I like cats." Then he proceeded to laugh hysterically; Ed closed the door behind him.

Peering down the hall in one direction he saw nothing then when he went to turn around to check the other way, he came face to shoulder with Lt. Ross.

* * *

I know I said I would get this out in one chapter, but oh well, I couldn't. There'll be a part two coming soon, I got to about 10 pages in and realized it was too long for just one chapter, so I cut it up into two parts.

Hope you liked it!


	4. Chapter 4 Saturday Night Part 2

* * *

**Saturday Night – Part 2**

* * *

"Edward…what are you doing here? Are you lost?" Ed opened his mouth to speak but closed it again quickly in fear of Maria smelling the wine off his breath. "Edward are you ok?" She questioned him once more.

"Yeah-I'm-fine." He said in his most sober tone, still it was all slurred together and sounded like one word. Also he was red in the face and his eyes drooping down; witch ws always a dead giveaway. Ross got in a little closer.

"Edward, have you been drinking?" She saw right through it; Ed's notwithstanding feigned sobriety was no use against Maria.

"…Yeah." His expression turned kind of guilty, but not entirely, he tried his hardest to hold back a smirk. "Uh-little." She cocked her head to the side slightly.

"How much is a little?" Ed placed a hand on the door that the other two were behind.

"Two of those wine jugson the tables...split between the three of us." Ed panicked. "I mean just me! I drank them both! All of them, all luvit…shit…" He ratted on them; it was his dumb idea to come out here in the first place and they were going to get in trouble. "I just wanted to get some samwiches." Ross smiled warmly.

"It's ok Edward, you just go back to the room and I'll bring you some sandwiches." Ed was surprised.

"Yer, not mad?" She shook her head.

"I use to drink when I was younger too, I'd feel like a hypocrite if I got upset with you. If you get caught bay anyone else there's no guarantee that they'll be as lenient as me, so just behave and stay in there till you're ready to go home. Just come find me." Ed nodded and re-entered the room. Winry was polishing off another glass of wine.

"Lutnent Ross is going to get us food." Winry shot her fist up into the air and gave a shout!

"Yea!" She exclaimed in a cheerful tone. Tipping the glass straight up into the air she finished off the last of the wine in the glass. She looked at the vase. "Aww…it's gone, I wanted some more too." Ed shrugged as his teetering steps led him over to the coach. "You hear that Al…Al?" He was in a half sitting position with his head slumped off to the right in what looked like an unnatural manner. His arms were out at his sides palms up as if they were holding something up, his eyes were shut and his breathing was rather hoarse, it kind of sounded like he was snoring. "I think Al passed out." Ed examined his brother from across the coffee table.

"Seems so..." Ed leaned over the coffee table and pushed him onto his side then lifted his legs so they were on the coach. Al, the whole while, didn't even stir the slightest. "He'll be fine." He waved a hand at his brother. His quick brush with LT. Ross sobered him up surprisingly quickly, his speech ability had returned to him, but the dizziness stayed. Winry looked half heartedly at the empty vases.

"I wish I hadn't fallen asleep, you two drank most of it." Standing up she walked over to one of the serving trays she had originally took her glass off of. She looked around the cart; there was a glass bottle, about half the size of the wine vases and it was filled with a clear liquid. "Ah...nothing but water..." She felt the bottom of the glass. "And it's warm too. Oh well, I'm thirsty; for some reason the wine made me thirsty. You think drinking a liquid would make you not thirsty. I wonder if there's any ice around here." Ed listened to Winry prattle on about the warm water then buzz around the room looking for some ice.

10 minutes of searching, coupled with trying to keep balance, she found nothing. "Forget it." She took the top off the bottle and tilted it to her lips. To her dismay it was not water, the burning sensation met her lips and slit to the back of her throat and then all the way down to her stomach. "AH!" Se whipped her mouth furiously. "That's not water! If it is it went bad." Ed motioned for her to come over. "Here, try it. It tastes like crap." Ed raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's a good way to make me want to try it." He took the bottle from her hand and sniffed the contents. They smelled very strong. "This smells like rubbing alcohol." Winry covered her mouth; just then LT. Ross came back in the room with a big heaping plate of party sandwiches. Ed quickly hit the bottle between his legs and the couch he was sitting on.

"Here you go...hmm?" She looked at Alphonse. "Is he ok?" Ed nodded.

"Yeah, he just got tired." Ed smiled as he watched Lt Ross place the sandwiches on the table.

"They look so good!" Winry stumbled half way over to the table and flopped down on the floor, she then crawled the rest of the way. "So hungry." She grabbed a sandwich in each hand and proceeded to munch down them.

"That's hot…" Ed stated as he watched Winry gorge herself. Shaking his head he looked back to Lt. Ross. "What kinduv booze is clear and smells really bad; kind-a…kind of like rubbing alcohol?" Maria nodded.

"Vodka; but if you mix it you don't taste it as much…you don't have any do you?" Ed shook his head.

"No, I jus remember seeing it. Tha sall." Maria grabbed the empty jugs off the table and placed them under her arms.

"I'll take these back to the dining hall for you." She gave a sly glance to Edward. "You behave yourself Ed." Ed was a little confused. "I mean it." She looked at Winry who was still eating and then back to Edward. It took a second to sink in but Ed managed to catch on.

"Aaaaah… Don't worry, I won touch her." Winry looked up from her sandwiches.

"Touch who?" He placed a hand on her head.

"Play nice kids." She closed the door behind her. Ed watched the door close and with his eyes on the door still he reached for the jug of Vodka.

"Nice and drunk. Got ya'." Ed tilted the bottle upwards and took two big gulps of the burning liquid. He placed it down on the table and then keeled over in a coughing fit. "AH!" He grabbed a little sandwich and jammed it in his mouth to try and dull the taste. Upon swallowing the sandwich he allowed his tongue to hand out of his mouth.

"Pretty gross huh?" Winry nodded to herself. "At least you were expecting it I thought it was water so when I tasted it you wouldn't believe how surprised I was you should save some for Al." Ed gave her a strange glance.

"You shoo slow down weh you talk." Winry smiled.

* * *

Ed nodded as everyone listened intently. "I'm sorry for lying about the vodka. Anyway, everything after that is pretty fuzzy." Al agreed.

"I don't remember doing anything else. I actually woke up in the hall and went home in the morning. Same with Winry." Ed sighed in relief.

"I was wondering what happened to you two." Ed looked over to Maria. "Aside from asking for the drive I have no other memories. Do you think you can fill in the rest?" Maria began to speak.

"After I heard Edward left the building, I went after him; I met up with him on the stairs of the dorms."

* * *

"Do you need some help?" Ed was sitting on the stairs with both hands still on the railing and his head slumped down.

"Yu sai yud drime." His speech was nearly inaudible.

"I can't understand you Edward. Let me help you to your room." She took his left arm and slung it over her shoulder and placed her right arm around his waist. She stood him up and they began to walk up the stairs. "So Edward, did you have fun?" He nodded as best he could. "I really don't think you should do this again, it's too risky." He nodded again, it seemed that was the only thing he could do. They headed down the hall and rounded a corner.

"You know Roy has been trynna kill the plant ouside his office for two yeers." Maria laughed a little.

"What makes you say that?" Ed smiled.

"I cameere to get my watch…and I saw him talking to it. He said 'I munna kill you, you ugly lil bastard. I iddin't want you here in the firs place.' He poured out his flaks he keeps in his desk innu it. And randomly dumps coffee innit when noones lookin' I think it's made it stronger!" Ed leaned backward and laughed, almost throwing off Maria's balance. She laughed out loud.

"Oh my! That explains the strong scent of coffee every time I walk by." She giggled and they regained their stability. "So is this your room?" They stopped in front of a door. Edward looked up at the numbers and squinted; then he covered one eye with his free automail hand.

"Mmmm…Yea." He turned the knob and leaned in to go in the room but lost his balance and tugged Maria into the room.

"Careful Ed." She propped him against the wall and shut the door. "Get to bed." She helped him across the room and he flopped down on the mattress; one leg still hanging over the edge of the bed. The minutes passed quietly with Maria sitting silently by Edward's bedside. He seemed to be muttering something in his sleep; she wanted to stay by his side in case anything should happen to him. Ed shot up, propping himself up with his arms.

"Help me to the bathroom…" He said rather quickly. Without a hitch Maria took hold of Edward in her arms and led him to the bathroom that was in his dorm room. Ed all the while was covering his mouth.

"Can you manage on your own?" He nodded and went in and shut the door behind himself. Ross sat on the edge of his bed and awaited his return. "It's awful warm in here." Removing her coat she continued to wait. She heard a loud thud and then a jiggle of a door knob. Ed came out of the bathroom and leaned against the door frame. In an attempt to get back to his bed he tried to walk on his own but instead came crashing down on a little coffee table that was situated outside the bathroom door. His right arm, considering it was made out of metal, crushed the poor table and knocked one of the legs off.

"Ah…" Ed fell forward and passed out cold on the floor.

"Edward!" Maria quickly picked the table up and tried to prop it against the wall. "Dammit." She noticed the broken leg, she grabbed a paper weight that was on the table before and nailed the leg back on. "There." Quickly checking on Edward to see if he was breathing she tried to pick him up; not realizing the automail was as heavy as it was she didn't get very far. "Edward, get up." She shook him a little; there was no response. "Ah dammit." After a six minute struggle she finally managed to get him back on the bed. Grabbing a bucket from the other side of the room she placed it at the head of the bed on the floor. "Ed, I need you to stay on your side…can you hear me?"

"Mm-hmm." He nodded, but only slightly.

"If you feel sick there's a bucket by your head, ok?" He nodded once again. Propping him on his side with a pillow she stood up.

"Thanks…" He said very quietly. Maria smiled.

"Get some sleep; you're going to need it. I'm leaving now, ok?" He nodded and fell into a deep sleep. With that she left the room.

* * *

"After that I went right back to the banquette."

"Now that that's all sorted out, we can breathe easy knowing nothing bad happened." Roy announced quite happy with the way things turned out. Ed nodded.

"Maybe so, but I blacked out...That's kind of scary, what if I had done something stupid that I might regret." Breda waved a hand at him.

"That's why we have a rule amongst us here, 'What happens in a blackout stays in the blackout'. That's the way it's been for years and probably always will be. Because anything can happen in a blackout."

"Anything." All the older members of Mustang's staff, along with Mustang, all said as if on cue. Al and Ed looked at one another. Al raised a finger and pointed at them.

"By anything...what exactly do you mean?" A forbidden question that should be asked by none. There was a moment of silence. Then one of them piped up.

"Like, throwing up on your girlfriends lap when you've only been dating for a week because you were too tired to move." Kane began.

"Or pushing your friends' car over the edge of a cliff because he took the last beer." Falman added.

"Or trying to give yourself a Mohawk with a straight blade razor because your buddies said it was a good idea." Roy continued.

"Or shaving a prize winning poodle because you thought he looked like a fag with that stupid continental cut." Breda added.

"Or making out with another guy for 100 cens because you wanted one more shot of rum." Havoc said regretfully. They all turned to Riza who hesitated.

"...Or strip teasing a waiter at a fancy restaurant because you didn't feel like leaving him a real tip." Riza said with a twinge of shame in her voice. Ed and all were in a state of shock; the militaries elite, the upper crust, the cream of the crop, turned into idiots by drink. It was truly a sorry sight. Ed was bewildered.

"You really didn't have to get us to do the dishes to get us to not drink...you should have just told us that." Al agreed.

"I doubt I'll drink again." They all hung their heads in shame; the teenagers had figured it out years before any of them ever did.

"Can't say that's ever happened to me." Maria smiled.

"Same..." Denny added.

* * *

There you have it! The end! I hope you liked it! By the way, I would like to thank my friend Red for giving me the perfect position to put Al in when he passed out. It's a shame she won't remember it; it was priceless.


	5. 2 FUNNY EXTRAS!

_Havoc's reaction to when he finds out that Maria might have slept with Ed._

**From the first chapter…**

* * *

"Alright, let's hear it." Roy, as if he knew what Denny was going to say, folded his arms and waited. Everyone else encouraged him. 

"We're all men here." Breda stated. "Out with it." The rest listened carefully. Denny lowered his head.

"I saw Maria with another guy on Saturday, I'm positive they slept together." He sighed. "I know she's a grown woman who can make he own choices, but did it have to be Edward!" He exclaimed. The room was shocked; Havoc cracked his knuckles.

"Woo geez, and I thought I was desperate." Havoc smiled. "No matter how many times I got dumped I never slept with someone half my age." He reached in his pocket and lit up a cigarette. "If this one doesn't like my bad habit she can bite me."

_What Riza remembers._

**A cut scene from chapter 4...

* * *

**

"I remember something!" Everyone turned their attention to Hawkeye.

* * *

Ed stumbled out from the hallway onto the main floor; Riza could see him heading straight for their table. "Hey…it's Ed. He looks…not good." No one was paying attention to what she was saying. They were all too busy laughing and joking about how Havoc got dumped, yet again.

"So te-...haa hehe…so, so tell me. Wha-What exactly did she say?" Roy managed to stammer out.

"She said she didn't want to kiss someone who tasted like an ashtray." Havoc too another shot and laid his head on the table. They all laughed and Roy gave him a comforting at on the back. Ed finally made his way to the table.

"Hey Roy!" Ed slammed his hands down on the table top. "Where's Maria at?" Roy laughed.

"Hey pppppheewee! Ha! I dun know." Even in the height of inebriation he still managed to make a short joke.

"Fuck you Roy! Where is she?" He demanded; Roy shrugged.

"I told ya I dun know." He leaned forward and examined Edwards face. "You look drunk…are you dru--you're too young to be drunk!" He raised his voice and pointed an accusing finger at Ed in an exaggerated manner. The others just watched the scene unfold, not saying a word, not getting involved.

"I mabe too young tuhbe drunk." He began. "But! Yer too old to not have a wife ya loser!" Ed stated rather loudly clenching his fists, the group held back a laugh. Roy's mouth just hung open; he was owned and he knew it, and boy did it suck. He tried a retort.

"Go to Ed Bedward!" He gave a drunken laugh then slumped his head down and rested it on the table. Ed turned to Riza who was giggling. "What about you? Do you know where Maria is? I need a drive." Riza calmly shook her head as she spoke.

"She went to get a drink. No one here is in any condition to drive you home Edward." She closed her eyes and then opened them again very slowly.

"Ah shit…I munna hada walk." Ed left the table and headed towards the exit.

"…" Roy sat in awe and gave Edward a look of death.

"You know I didn't mean it." Ed defended himself. "I think you're a loser regardless of marriage or not." Roy's eye twitched.

* * *

There you have it, a couple of things I took out so it wouldn't be so damn long!

Hope you liked them!


End file.
